


To Save A Selkie

by marshmallowmischief



Series: Sanders Sides/TS One Shots [4]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alcohol, Kidnapping, Light Angst, Manipulation, Mind Control, Minor Violence, Swearing, brief mentions of throwing up
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-04-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:22:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,110
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23546836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marshmallowmischief/pseuds/marshmallowmischief
Summary: Selkie!Virgil meets Dee and Remus who help him find his stolen coat.
Relationships: Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Deceit Sanders
Series: Sanders Sides/TS One Shots [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576192
Comments: 1
Kudos: 66





	To Save A Selkie

**Author's Note:**

> this was another commission on my tumblr (@marshmallowmischief)

_“Hey there. Come here often?”_

_“It’s my first time, actually. I’m not from here.”_

_“Care if I buy you a drink?”_

_“Sorry, but I don’t accept gifts from strangers.”_

_“Fair enough, fair enough. What’s your name, friend?”_

_“Virgil.”_

_“And I’m Randy. Now we’re not strangers. So, how about that drink?”_

_“I guess one drink wouldn’t hurt.”_

_“That’s the spirit! Say, that’s a nice coat you’ve got there…”_

\----

Water. The source of all life. The source of his happiness. His home away from home. 

The oh so familiar smell of the briny sea filled Dee’s nostrils as he walked with his boyfriend. They traversed the rocky beach hand in hand, making small talk as they made their way to Dee’s marine excavation site. Dee didn’t want to work on a weekend, but being a marine biologist living by the ocean meant his work was never truly finished. 

“Dee, look! I think there’s a dead body!” Remus exclaimed, pointing to a half naked figure laying slumped over just past the excavation site. 

“Who would be taking a nap on the rockiest beach in town on the rainiest day of the year?” Dee frowned and took up a light jog over to the stranger. 

“If they’re dead, can I poke the body with a stick?” 

“No, Remus, you may not poke the body,” Dee sighed and rubbed his temple. As they approached, the person began to stir. “Hey, you! You shouldn’t be here. It’s dangerous to be this close to the water.” 

The man sat up and held a hand to his temple, groaning with effort as he tried to hold his body upright. He leaned over and vomited violently, earning a disgusted face from Dee. 

“I think he’s hungover,” Dee said. 

“Someone can’t hold his liquor,” Remus agreed. 

The stranger looked up at them for the first time and both men let out a soft gasp. He had large, almost inhuman eyes that were so brown they were nearly pitch black. His smooth skin was deathly pale with hints of freckles across his nose and cheeks. His shaggy hair was the same shade of deep brown as his eyes. The man was wearing no shirt, only a pair of ripped black jeans and ratted combat boots. Dee could see the strangers frantic breath hanging in the frigid air as he panted lightly with the effort of keeping his dinner down. 

“Who- who the hell are you?” The stranger’s voice was hoarse and raspy. Dee wondered for a moment if the stranger had a habit of gargling nails. 

“I’m the marine biologist in charge of this portion of the beach. This is my boyfriend. Now, who are you?” 

“Why should I tell you?”

“Because I could have your ass hauled to jail for contaminating a government excavation site. So I’ll ask you again: Who are you?” Dee crossed his arms.

“...Virgil. My name is Virgil.” 

“Hiya, Virgil! I’m Remus, and this is Dee!” Remus gave an excited wave. 

“Uh, hi,” Virgil muttered. 

“So what are you doing here, Virgil? This beach is far from any bar, so how did you get out here?” Dee unfolded his arms and extended a hand to help Virgil up.

“I- I don’t remember.” 

“What do you remember?” Remus asked. 

“I remember a very persistent man offering me drinks last night at the bar in town. He offered to drive me home after I had a few too many.” Virgil wrapped his arms around his middle and shuddered. “He made me uncomfortable, but I wasn’t in any condition to walk around by myself. He- Oh god. Where is it!?” 

“Where is what?” Dee watched as Virgil began to frantically search the surrounding area for his mystery item. “Did he take something of yours?”

“That son of a bitch, he took it! He took my-” Virgil paused and looked to Dee and Remus. “He stole something from me. I have to go get it back!” 

Virgil turned to run towards the road but stumbled, his legs weak and wobbly with exhaustion. 

“Woah there, you aren’t going anywhere,” Remus steadied him with gentle hands. “Holy shit, you’re freezing… Are you sure you aren’t a corpse? Can I poke you with a stick?” 

“Remus, enough. Here,” Dee took off his trench coat and wrapped it around Virgil’s shoulders. “This will keep you warm.” 

“I have to go, I have to find it! If I don’t find it I can never go home-” Virgil shook violently with desperation. 

“Whatever it is, we’ll help you find it. Now calm down.” Dee sighed. “Look, it’s about time for lunch. You look like you haven’t seen a decent meal in months.”

Virgil nodded weakly, obviously too tired to put up any sort of a fight. Dee and Remus each lent him a hand and walked him back to their car. After a short drive the trio arrived at a small eatery at the center of town, just across from the bar Virgil had been to the night before. 

“Alright. We’re going to order you something with a lot of protein to get your strength up-” 

“Fish, please,” Virgil whispered.

“Okay, fish it is.” Dee went up to the counter to order. Soon enough, the three had their meals set before them. “So, before we go looking for your stolen item, why don’t you tell us exactly what we’re looking for.” 

Virgil ignored Dee, instead using his hands to shovel the fried fish into his mouth. 

“My, what sharp teeth you have,” Remus said, leaning in to pull back Virgil’s lips to get a better look. 

“Tell anyone and they’ll be the last thing you see,” Virgil hissed and leaned away. 

“Someone’s jumpy. I was just curious.”

“Remus, once again, that’s enough.” Dee looked around the room hesitantly before leaning in close and whispering, “Look. It’s pretty obvious that you’re inhuman. So, I’ll ask once and only once. What are you, and what have you lost?” 

Virgil squirmed uncomfortably under the intense gaze before finally sighing and muttering something that the two couldn’t quite pick up.

“What was that?” Remus leaned in further. 

“I said, I’m… I’m a selkie.” 

“A what now?” Remus looked to Dee. 

“A selkie is a supposedly mythological creature. I always thought it was just a folk tale made up by sailors and lonely lighthouse keepers,” Dee said, shaking his head in disbelief. 

“Do I look made up to you?” Virgil rolled his big brown eyes at Dee. 

“In the stories, selkies would be found on the beach in human form with a pelt or a coat laying next to them. Anyone who picked up the coat then had ‘ownership’ of the selkie, often in the form of marriage or mild mind control,” Dee explained, staring intently at Virgil as he spoke. “At the end of the story, the selkie usually stole back the coat and returned to their true form before disappearing into the ocean forever. Or until the next time their coat is stolen. One of the two.”

“Yeah,” Virgil scowled at his now empty plate. “Without the coat, life is miserable. So we have to get it back as soon as possible.” 

He stood to walk to the bathroom, but halfway there he crumpled in pain. His skin felt ablaze and his vision flickered before fading to black. He let out a guttural scream as he curled up on the floor, desperately grasping at the cool tile floor for some form of relief from the burning in his veins.

_Come back to us._

_You don’t belong there._

_The ocean is your home._

_Come back._

_Come back._

“Virgil! Come back to us, buddy!” Remus’ voice broke through the searing agony and Virgil latched on to that small piece of reality. After ten minutes of soft coaxing from Remus and Dee, the selkie finally came to on the floor of the restaurant. 

“Is he alright? That was some scary shit,” one of the workers came over.

“He has seizures. Violent ones.” Dee lied smoothly. “Don’t mind us. We’ll be taking him home now.” 

“Alright, dude. You do that.” 

Remus scooped Virgil up off the floor and carried him out to their car. Dee drove them back to their small loft apartment where they let Virgil lay on the couch to rest. While he slept, the two boyfriends convened in the kitchen. After discussing the situation, they decided the best course of action was to help Virgil in any way they could. 

The next day, Virgil awoke to the scent of bacon and pancakes. He sat upright on the couch and looked down at himself, noticing that sometime in the night a shirt had found its way onto his body. It was a loose fitting button up flannel with criss crossing shades of deep purple and black. He was wondering who took the time to dress him when Remus entered the living room. 

“Wakey wakey, eggs and bakey,” he said as he helped Virgil to his feet.

“Bakey?” Virgil quirked a brow.

“Bacon, baby!” Remus beamed. 

The two entered the dining room where Dee was arranging plates for breakfast. The three sat down and ate in silence for a moment, until Remus couldn’t stand it anymore.

“So, what was the whole ‘screaming in hellish pain’ thing about yesterday?” Remus scooted his chair closer to Virgil. “It was pretty gnarly, Virge.” 

“I can’t say exactly because I blacked out so soon, but I heard a voice.”

“A voice? I didn’t hear anything other than your screaming,” Dee said.

“The voice of the ocean. She calls me when I’ve been away too long. I don’t know why, but it hurts a lot when it’s been more than a few days. Between that and the pain of missing my coat… Let’s just say if we don’t find it soon, I’m gonna have a hell of a time.” Virgil hugged himself, suddenly forgetting the meal before him. 

“Sounds pretty shitty,” Remus deadpanned. 

“Yeah, it is,” Virgil gave the two a shy smile before standing. “I’m done. Can we go find it now?” 

“How will we know where to look?” Dee asked as he stood. “The only place I can think of to look for it is the festival downtown.” 

“That sounds like a good place to start,” Virgil said. “I can feel that it’s nearby, but I can’t pinpoint exactly where it is until I’m within about ten feet of it.” 

“Well, let’s get going then.” Dee handed Virgil a jacket before grabbing his own. “Remus, c’mon.”

“But my bacon!” 

“You can bring the damn bacon, just hurry it up!” 

The three left the apartment and walked a few blocks to the downtown area. What was once a quiet strip of businesses was now a bustling city center, with booths and carts galore. Virgil furrowed his brows as he searched the thick crowd. 

“Well, I guess let’s just walk around until we find it. It’s close, I can feel it,” he said as he made his way through into the center of the square. “I remember the man had a brown leather handbag, so keep an eye out.”

The trio remained together for the first few hours of searching and trying to sense the presence of the pelt, but they had no luck. Virgil stood by as Dee and Remus ordered their lunch when suddenly he felt it. The strong instinctual pull to a bag being carried by a tall policeman who looked oddly familiar. 

“That’s him! I’m going for it!” Virgil called over his shoulder before running after the officer. He chased him down to the outskirts of the festival and down a dark alleyway where the truck he’d ridden in the night before sat idling. The man turned around with a sickening smile. 

“Virgil, sweetheart. I knew you’d come back for this,” he said, pulling out the sleek coat from the bag. “Y’know, I always imagined that these would be bigger. But you’re such a small, pretty thing, aren’t you?”

“Shut the hell up and give me back my treasure, thief,” Virgil sneered.

“You see, Virgil, I can’t do that. I have your coat, so therefore I have you. Now, would ya kindly get in the truck?” The Thief said. Virgil’s eyes glazed over with a white film as he nodded. The Thief smiled and opened the truck door for him. “There. Now was that so hard?” 

Meanwhile, Dee and Remus were running around frantically searching for any sign of where Virgil went. They came upon the alleyway just as Virgil entered the truck. Dee hollered for the Thief to stop, but all he received in response was the polite tip of a hat as he began to drive away.

“That’s Randy’s truck!” Remus exclaimed. “I know where he lives! Let’s go!” 

“It can’t be that easy, Remus. He wouldn’t take someone back to his house where his family is. It’s gotta be somewhere that no one would think of,” Dee pondered for a moment but came up blank.

“What about that old haunted house on the edge of town? That’d be the perfect place to take a kidnapping victim.”

“It’s worth a shot. If all else fails, we can drive around until we find his truck.” 

The two ran to their car and drove to the old foreclosed house on the hill just on the outskirts of town. Dee and Remus both let out a large sigh of relief when they saw the beat up red truck sitting outside. They parked a block away before sneaking up to the back of the house. Dee held a finger up to his lips when Remus began to talk. They could hear that Randy was stomping around in the upstairs area, so they decided to push in the basement window in order to get into the house. 

Once inside, they found Virgil chained to the wall by his ankle with his hands handcuffed behind his back. He looked up at them with a blank, almost emotionless expression. 

“Virge, we’re here to get you out,” Remus said as Dee began to search for the keys to the chains.

“I don’t want to leave. My Owner is taking good care of me. I don’t need you. I don’t need the ocean. I just need my Owner.” Virgil’s voice was hoarse and monotone. Remus pulled away with a hurt expression, but Dee didn’t flinch. 

“That’s bullshit and you know it, Virgil. Now pipe down so we can free you” Dee looked from Virgil to Remus. “The keys are likely on Randy’s person. We need to find him and get the keys and the coat as carefully as possible.”

“Will this help?” Remus asked, holding up a policeman’s nightstick.

“Perfect. Let’s get this over with,” Dee said. He gave Virgil a small smile before making his way up the stairs into the first floor of the house. He motioned for Remus to stand behind a door where he wouldn’t be seen by anyone coming down the hallway. Dee took a deep breath and hollered, “We know what you’ve done! We’re here to take him back!” 

“Is that so?” Randy stomped his way down the stairs and stood at the end of the hallway. “I’ll have you know that he is rightfully mine! I stole the coat fair and square, and no pansy like you is gonna take it from me.”

Randy sauntered down the hallway, stopping every so often to sneer or spit at Dee. Once he was in the prime position, Dee yelled, “Now!” 

Remus brought down the nightstick hard upon Randy’s head and the two boyfriends watched as Randy folded over in pain. Remus didn’t stop there, instead choosing to hit him once more for good measure. Once Randy was curled up on the ground, Remus began to kick and stomp on him. Dee pulled his boyfriend off the Thief and dragged him a good distance away.

“That’s enough, Remus,” Dee said softly. Remus nodded and harshly wiped at the tears streaking down his face. The two searched the unconscious man for the keys and Virgil’s coat, finding both in the brown leather bag. They made their way downstairs and found Virgil sitting in the corner holding his head in his hands. 

“The ocean must be calling to him again.” Remus frowned at the obvious pain that he was in. Once he was unchained, Remus gently picked the selkie up and carried him up the stairs and out the front door. They reached the car in minutes. Remus gently laid Virgil in the backseat before hopping in the driver's seat. 

They drove for a good thirty minutes before finally arriving at the beach where it all began. Dee silently wondered if it had really only been one day since they met Virgil. He would later swear that the events took place over a week rather than a few days. 

Virgil shakily stepped out of the car clutching his coat. Dee and Remus each held one of his hands as they escorted him to the edge of the water where they found him twenty-four hours earlier. 

“Well, I guess this is it. Finally home.” Virgil smiled a real smile for the first time since he came to the town. 

“Will we ever see you again? Please say you’ll come back someday,” Remus said, his bottom lip quivering. 

“You saved my life today. The least I can do is come back for a visit sometime.” Virgil tiptoed up and left a soft kiss on Remus’ freckled cheek. He turned to Dee and gave him a kiss on the cheek as well, saying, “I’ll never be able to repay you, but I will spend the rest of my existence trying.” 

“You don’t have to pay us back, Virgil. Just… don’t be a stranger. Okay?” Dee brushed a strand of hair from Virgil’s face. 

“Okay.” 

Virgil took a deep breath before turning to the ocean. 

_Come back._

_Come back._

_Come back._

Virgil took off in a dead sprint toward the water, running through the waves effortlessly. Coat in hand, Virgil jumped into a large wave and dived deep under the water.

_Welcome home._

Virgil grinned wide as he swam for ages before finally shifting into his true form. He swam to the surface and breached the water, doing flips and splashing happily. 

Dee and Remus held each other tight as they watched him swim off into the distance, hopefully to return soon. 

\----

_“Hey there. Come here often?”_

_“Virge!”_

_“Hey Remus. Dee. Told ya I’d come back.”_

_“Indeed you did.”_

_“So how ‘bout a drink?”_

_“I don’t accept drinks from people I don’t know. Lucky for you, we are far from strangers. Cheers.”_


End file.
